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The Independent‘s Sheila Johnsonobserves that the femme fatale has all but disappeared from screens. The last time there was a crop of such roles was in ’80s and ’90s films like Body Heat, Blood Simple, Basic Instinct, The Last Seduction, etc. I think the lack of femme fatales is a result of men’s maturing attitudes about women, since the original femme fatales of 1940s film noir were misogynist fantasies rooted in male loathing of women due to envy of their tremendous power.

“Personality Disorder and the Femme Fatale,” an essay by Scott Snyder, states in its summary that “the type of character pathology personified in the femme fatale may be viewed as representative of certain misogynistic conceptualizations of the women of [the late '40s and '50s]. Concurrently, these screen women may have helped to create a certain cultural image for some real-life women of the 1940s and 1950s as reflected in the areas of fashion and style, personality, and social status.”

“I think the lack of femme fatales is a result of men’s maturing attitudes about women, since the original femme fatales of 1940s film noir were misogynist fantasies rooted in male loathing of women due to envy of their tremendous power.”

Certainly it’s true misogyny fed into the portrayal of many of the femme fatale roles. It’s also true, however, no one – certainly not actresses – should be precluded from playing villains, and Jane Greer (OUT OF THE PAST), Barbara Stanwyck (DOUBLE INDEMNITY), Ann Savage (DETOUR) and Gene Tierney (LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN), among others, got to play some of the most memorable villains in movies.

DeafBrownTrashPunk

isn’t Angelina Jolie still considered a femme fatale sort of actress??????????????????? and maybe Megan Fox, too.

Alexander

Good call on Saffron Burrows from The Bank Job, KB.

I’ll probably be laughed out of town for saying this, but I still believe Nora Zehetner in Brick gave one of the best femme fatale performances in many a year.

Cate Blanchett was solid in The Good German, a film I didn’t otherwise care for.

Carrie-Anne Moss is a twist on the archetype in Memento.

On the flipside from Zehetner in Brick, Lois Smith was quite memorable in Minority Report.

And of course one could make something of a case for Kim Basinger in LA Confidential; whether her character was truly a femme fatale or not, she played the part.

Rich S.

Of course, it could be argued the opposite is true. Political correctness has progressed to the point where Hollywood no longer feels comfortable writing a strong, intelligent female character with character flaws such as using her sexual power to get what she wants. Remember, the femme fatale is almost always paired with an emasculated male she can manipulate, so the cliche has two sides.

People are always complaining about the lack of strong roles for women, especially those that aren’t in their twenties. Femme fatales, for better or worse, have traditionally provided some of those roles, as Kathleen Turner, Barbara Stanwyck, Lana Turner, etc. well know.